Hydroponic cultivation enhances biomass and medicinal safety of Houttuynia cordata Thunb: An integrated physiological and multi-omics analysis.

Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (H. cordata) is a significant medicinal plant in China, known for its strong effects in healthcare and disease treatment. However, wild-harvested H. cordata often accumulates heavy metal contaminants, and currently, there is no environmentally safe method for its cultivation. This study aims to explore the influence of cultivation substrates on the growth, development, and medicinal components of H. cordata , and to elucidate the potential mechanisms underlying the increased biomass of H. cordata under hydroponic conditions using multi-omics techniques. Methodologically, we employed soilless cultivation to ensure medicinal safety and used multi-omics analysis to reveal the differential metabolites and genes associated with various cultivation methods. Our findings indicate that soilless cultivation effectively reduces H. cordata 's accumulation of benzene while maintaining medicinal component levels comparable to traditional soil cultivation. Hydroponically grown H. cordata exhibits significantly higher biomass compared to other methods. The integration of multi-omics analysis shows that differential metabolites and genes in hydroponically grown H. cordata are primarily enriched in nitrogen metabolism and photosynthetic pathways. Additionally, we found that increased nitric oxide content significantly enhances H. cordata 's photosynthesis and gene expression, promoting leaf and root growth. In conclusion, soilless cultivation reduces benzene metabolite levels in H. cordata while preserving its medicinal properties, and hydroponics facilitates its growth and development. This study lays a theoretical foundation for the industrial production of environmentally friendly, uncontaminated medicinal H. cordata. [Display omitted] • Houttuynia cordata Thunb thrives in soilless cultivation, with significant biomass increase. • Soilless cultivation effectively reduces benzene accumulation in H. cordata. • Multi-omics reveals hydroponic regulation mechanisms in H. cordata growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]